Flue-expander.



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PA'TBNTED DBC. 19, 1905. J. W. FAESSLER.

FLUE EXPANDER. APPLICATION FILED APRJO. 1905*.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FLUE-EXPANDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1905.

Application filed April 10, 1905. Serial No. 254.781.

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN W. FAEssLnR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Moberly, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flue-Expanders, of which the following is a specification containing a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to an improved flueexpander; and it consists of a combined handle and mandrel, a pair of expanding-jaws, a wedge for operating said jaws, and a flexible ring for normally retaining said aws in their normal positions.

The object of my invention is to construct a simple, inexpensive, and easilyoperated` flue-expander of a minimum number of parts which may be readily assembled or taken apart.

A further object of my invention is to construct a flue-expander which is adapted to receive different-shaped expanding-jaws and wedges for operating the same.

To the above purpose my invention consists in certain novel features hereinafter described, claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved flue-expander. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the combined handle and mandrel. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken through the center of my improved expander, the same being shown in position in the end of a tube which is to be expanded.v Fig. 4 is a view analogous to Fig. 3 and showing a modified form of the expanding-jaws.

Referring by characters to the accompanying drawings, 1 indicates a cylindrical handle having a knurled surface 2, through the center of which is formed an aperture 3. Formed integral with one end of this handle 1 is a neck 4, in whichis formeda peripheral groove 5. Formed integral with this neck is a mandrel 6, and said mandrel and neck are divided longitudinally by the slot 7. The expanding-jaws 8 are made in pairs and are adapted to occupy the sides of the slot 7, said jaws comprising the body portions 9, in the outer edges of which are formed notches 10, that occupy positions coinciding with the groove 5. The inner faces of these jaws are inclined, as indicated by 11, and the outer ends 12 of said jaws extend slightly beyond the end of the mandrel 6. The outer faces of the body portions 9 of the jaws are provided that engage directly against the inclined faces 11 of the jaws. Formed integral with the rear side of this wedge is a shank 17, that passes through the longitudinally-extending groove 3 in the handle 1. When the jaws 9 are properly positioned in the slot 7, a heavy band 18, of rubber or analogous material, is positioned in the groove 5 and notches 10, thus yieldingly retaining the jaws in proper operative position. The operation of my improved expander is as follows: When the parts are assembled and in their normal positions, as shown in Fig. 3, with the wedge 15 drawn to its rearward position and the jaws together, the mandrel portion 6, together with the outer ends 12 of thej aws, is inserted in the tube A, which is to be expanded into the headB. The shank 17is then moved forwardly, thus forcing the wedge 15 outwardlyand moving the outer ends of the jaws forward away from one another, and at the same time the entire device is rotated in any suitable manner, and as a result the inclined faces 13 of the jaws are forcibly driven against the end of the tube A and expanded in the head B, and at the same time the lugs 14 will travel around the inner surface of the tube and form a groove therein and force that portion of the tube against which said lugs bear outwardly on the opposite side of the head from the side in which the end of the tube is expanded. When the desired effect has been produced upon the end of the iiue,

the shank 17, carrying the wedge 15, is withdrawn to its normal position and the jaws will correspondingly close and the device is withdrawn from the end of the tube. The rubber ring 10 retains the jaws in their normal positions and at the same time readily allows said jaws to swing outward when a tube is being expanded.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the inclined faces of the wedge are formed on angles much sharper than are said faces of the wedge 15 in Fig. 3 and the bearing-surfaces IOO IIO

of the jaws are made slightly different in order to produce a dierent effect on the end of the tube.

Various other shapes of jaws may be used to correspond with the requirements of the work being done. The handle 2, neck 4, and mandrel 6 being all formed integral serve as a strong housing for the aws and the wedge, and when the device is in operation all of the parts operate practically as a single piece.

What I claim isl. In aflue-expander, the combination with a handle, a slotted mandrel integral therewith, of jaws loosely arranged in the slot within the mandrel which jaws are formed with inclined inner faces and being provided with abrupt inclined shoulders on their outer faces, lugs integral with the outer ends of the outer faces of said jaws, and a wedge positioned between the jaws for moving them outwardly; substantially as specified.

2. In a ueexpander, a handle, through which is formed a longitudinally-extending aperture, a slotted mandrel integral with said handle, a pair of aws arranged in said slotted mandrel, a heavy rubber ring encircling the rear end of the slotted mandrel and the rear ends of the jaws, a wedge positioned between said jaws, and a shank integral with said wedge and extending through the aperture in the handle; substantially as specified.

3. In a flue-expander, the combination with a handle through which is formed a longitudinally-extending aperture, a slotted mandrel integral with said handle, of a pair of jaws arranged in the slotted mandrel, a heavy A JOHN W. FAESSLER. Witnesses:

J. A. M. FULLER, JOEl W. MULLEN. 

